Technology provider Amadeus saw hotel bookings increase by 7.5% last year, with half made by guests booking international travel.
Sales of its Property Management System also went up 33.4%, indicating that chains are opening more hotels in new countries, it says.
Hotel occupancy and average room rates were up in every world region, according to a Deloitte survey, and Amadeus found there was a higher than usual uptake of its Revenue Management technology, which helps hotels increase occupancy and revenue per available room (revPAR).
Taj Hotels, Delaware North Hotels, and Le Richemond and Charles Hotel (both Rocco Forte) bought the system, with more than 1,000 properties in total now signed up.
”Growth in emerging markets represents two big opportunities for our hotel partners: attracting guests from these new markets or opening properties in them,” said Amadeus Hospitality Business Group managing director Antoine Medawar.
In 2007 Amadeus re-engineered its hotel distribution platform, making it easier for travel agents to search for properties, and allowing multi-lingual information to be stored ” a key consideration for hotels attracting guests from expanding economies such as China.
The company also now offers clients on-demand versions of its revenue solutions and property management services using the internet.
”Our technology solutions, born and bred in a multi-cultural environment, help hotels make the most of both these opportunities,” said Medawar. ”And now is the ideal time for hotels to invest in solutions which keep cost down and revenue high, as global demand for hotel rooms outstrips supply.”
Amadeus now has 77,000 hotels listed in its system, an increase of nearly 30% in two years.
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report released last week, UK hotels are likely to experience some slowdown in growth in the next two years but are relatively well-placed to cope with the current credit crunch, with occupancy levels expected to remain high at around 81%. Average room rates will still rise, but not as sharply as in recent years.